1: After the crusades, a lot of change took place within the medieval society. One element that went under great change was the government. Feudalism was surely fading, and because of this many doors began to open for medieval Government.

2: The church held great power over Medieval society. It was time for the English Kings to take over, and they had two ideas in mind. They wanted to be sure they held all possession of the French lands they already had, and they wanted to expand as well. They also wanted to be strong enough to overpower the nobles and the Church. King Henry II played a big part in these tasks.

4: Henry II took part in strengthening the royal courts of justice. By doing so he sent the royal judges to every part or region of England around once a year. On top of that he introduced the collection of taxes and settled lawsuits. The punishment of crimes led to the use of a jury in the English courts. A Jury was a group of loyal people, usually 12 neighbors of the accused. The Jury's duty was to answer the royal judges questions about facts on the case.

6: The only people allowed to conduct the settlement of disputes were the King's courts. Over centuries of years, the many cases caused the ruling of the royal judges to form a common law. a common law may be defined as a unified body of law. The principles of the English common law stands as the basis of law for the United States, even today. This includes all English- speaking countries as well. The next major document influenced by Henry II was the Magna Carta.

8: The French monarchy drastically changed when Phillip Augustus II took reign. He befriended Richard Lionheart, and together they attacked Richard Lionheart's father, Henry the II, removed him from power, and Richard took reign. After the Third Crusade, they became bitter and plotted against each other. Phillip Augustus became the powerful ruler of France, and Richard became the leader of England. They became enemies.

10: The Magna Carta was a document that was signed on June 15th, 1215. It was put into affect by King John who had gone behind the back of the pope by not first asking if it was okay. The pope would have never agreed to the Magna Carta because it would have challenged the feudal rights of the king. The document had gave the Baron the right to actually challenge a king. The main things that the Magna Carta really accomplished and actually even paved the way for todays government were.as i already mentioned, establishing and making limits on the power of the king. Also, it gave people better and more rights in the area of their private

11: property and it allowed the church to better enforce equal and fair rights and rules through the whole country. Although the Magna Carta did accomplish all of the things I just mentioned it also was looked at in another way. It was looked at as a document that took the problems of that certain time period and also tried to take a new outlook or view of the new want for justice, liberty, self rights, and the fact that you need more than individual beliefs to bring together a culture.

12: Edward I began to raise taxes for war against the French,Welsh, and Scottish. In 1295, he called on two burgesses (citizens of wealth and property) from every borough, and two knights from every country to serve in the legislative group known as the Parliament. In November of that same year, knights, burgesses, bishops, and lords from all over met at Westminster, London, and the Model Parliament was born. The Parliament consisted of the House of Commons and he House of Lords that represented the counties and towns of Medieval times. The Parliament became dominant and strong,and constantly kept royal power in check. Many of the political changes made influenced much of the U.S.A. democracy today.

13: The Magna Carta influenced the U.S. Constitution that we all abide by today. It is strictly seen in the Bill of Rights. Just like they had the House of Commons and the House of Lords we have the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House of Representatives consists of representatives from all of the states. This is similar to how Edward I took knights from every country and two burgesses from every borough to join the Parliament. Much of the Medieval government in England in France then is seen in modern democracy. It goes to show that even hundreds of years later, the essence of the brilliant Medieval government still shines through.